Cloth laying up machine



April 4, 1950 J. M. PERIGNAT CLOTH LAYING UP MACHINE Fi ed Nov. 18, 1948 Few IN V EN TOR. fwd

ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 4, 1950 CLOTH LAYING Ur MACHINE Joseph M. Perignat, Forest Hills, N. Y,, assignor to ConsolidatedSewing Machine & Supply 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 18, 1948, Serial No. 60,761

4 Claims.

This invention relates to cloth laying up. machines and more particularly to. an improved drive mechanism for the fold forming member of such machines.

As iswell known, such machines include a carriage which is mounted to reciprocate on a table and which carries a frame in which the fold forming member is mounted. This fold forming member is vertically slidably mounted in the frame and is adapted to be rotated through an arc of 180 on each reciprocation of the table to form the end folds in the layers of cloth.

The present invention is directed to a simplified means for effecting this movement. of the fold forming member. The fold forming member is mounted on a horizontal stub shaft and this shaft is connected by gearing to a vertical shaft having a segmental gear on its lower end. The segmental gear meshes with a rack carried by a bar secured to the carriage. On the vertical shaft and adjacent the gear I provide a disc having a semi-circular edge portion and adjacent flattened portions. A bar having a recess extending throughout the length of the rack and having adjacent portions adapted to be engaged by the flattened portions of the disc is associated with the rack.

Thus, instead of the complicated mechanical movements heretofore provided for turning the fold forming member exactly 180 and then stopping its movement, I accomplish this purpose by a simple rack and pinion construction with means associated with the rack and pinion to arrest the movement of the shaft at the end of 180.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown a portion of a cloth laying up machine showing the invention applied. In this showing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the table and the carriage with which the frame and fold forming member are associated;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal, sectional view on line 3--3 of Fig. 1 showing the drive at one end of its movement;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the drive at the other end of its movement; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed view, schematically showing layers of the cloth as folded by the fold forming member. v

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral l designates a table on which a carriage 2 is reciprocated in any suitable manner. The end of the carriage carries a frame 3 having a slot 4 therein to receive a block 5 which carries the 2 fold forming member 6 and which reciprocates in the slot 4 to raise and lower the fold forming member as folds F of the cloth C are piled on the table (see Fig. 5). The block 5 and the fold forming member are raised and lowered in the frame by suitable mechanism generally designated at l but not specifically described herein as such mechanism forms no part of the invention. As shown, the fold forming member is channel shaped comprising aback 8 and arms ll.

The back is provided with a slot and a plurality of rolls 10 are arranged adjacent this slot to guide the cloth through the fold forming member in the usual manner.

A stub shaft II is secured to the fold forming member and extends through the block 5. This stub shaft carries a bevel gear 12 meshing with a bevel gear [3 on avertical shaft l4. To permit the fold forming member to move up and down and keep the gears l2 and IS in mesh at all times, the gear [3 is movable longitudinally of the shaft I 4 but is keyed to the shaft to revolve therewith. As shown, the upper end of shaft I 4 is mounted in a bearing formed in a bracket 15 secured to the frame and the lower end is received in a bearing box I6. Block 5 carries an arm or plate l'l having an opening through which shaft It extends, the shaft being free to revolve in this opening, Plate I! inturn carries a hub member 18 which is longitudinally movable with the plate but free to revolve with respect thereto. The hub 18 is connected to gear I3 to revolve therewith, Shaft 14 is provided with a key-way If; to receive a key 20 carried by the hub i8.

011 the lower end of the shaft It I provide a segmental gear 2|. .As shown (see Figs. 3 and 4) the teeth 22 of this gear extend through slightly more than These teeth mesh with the teeth of rack 23, which rack is carried by a bar 21 slidably mounted in the bearing box IS. The number of teeth in rack 23 are just sufficient to turn gear 2|, and therefore the shaft I4, through an arc of 180.

Associated with the gear 2| I provide a disc 24 having two curved sections 25 slightly less than 180 connected by two flattened sections 26. The edge of bar 21 is substantially in the vertical plane with the crests of the teeth 23, but it is provided with a recess 28 which extends inwardly to a point beyond the root of the teeth of the rack 23.

In operation, as the carriage 2 reciprocates, rack 23, bar 21 and gear 2| reciprocate with the carriage without relative motion throughout the greater portion of the stroke of the carriage.

3 Just before the end of the stroke, bar 21 engages a stop 29 (see Fig. 1). One of these stops is mounted at each end of the table I to be engaged by the bar 21. As the bar is brought to a state of rest, the carriage continues to the end of its stroke and this relative movement between the two causes teeth 22 and 23 to mesh imparting a rotary movement to the shaft 14. Gears l2 and [3 are in mesh at all times, the hub l8 and associated parts moving up and down on the shaft I4 as the fold forming member moves up and down in the frame. Gears l2 and I3 are of the same size sothat upon a l80 rotation of shaft l4, stub shaft H and the fold forming member will be oscillated through the same arc.

The fold forming member 6 is spaced sufiiciently above the top layer of the cloth to permit oscillation thereof.

The number of teeth in the rack are just sufficient to rotate the gear 180. While the rack thus reversed at the end of each movement of the carriage and the horizontal arms form the folds in the cloth in the usual manner.

I claim:

l. A cloth laying up machine comprising a table, a carriage reciprocating on the table, a

frame mounted on the carriage, a fold forming member pivotally mounted in the frame, a stub shaft secured to the fold forming member, a rack bar slidably mounted on the carriage, a

shaft mounted on the frame a segmental gear secured to the shaft and meshing with the teeth of the rack, means carried by the shaft and engaging the rack bar to limit the movement of the shaft to 180, an operating connection between the shaft and the stub shaft, and a stop in the path of the rack bar to bring it to a state of rest prior to the end of the stroke of the carriage to cause the rack bar to rotate the shaft and thereby operate the fold forming member.

2. A cloth laying up machine comprising a table, a carriage reciprocating on the table, a frame mounted on the carriage, a fold forming member pivotally mounted in the frame, a stub shaft secured to the fold forming member, a rack bar slidably mounted on the carriage, a shaft mounted on the frame, a segmental gear secured to the shaft and meshing with the teeth of the rack, the number of teeth on the rack being suflicient to rotate the segmental gear and shaft through an arc of 180, means for arresting the motion of the shaft when it has traveled 180, operating connections between the shaft and the stub shaft, and a stop in the path of the rack bar to bring it to a state of rest prior to the end of the stroke of the carriage.

3. A cloth laying up machine comprising a table, a carriage reciprocating on the table, a frame mounted on the carriage, a fold forming member pivotally mounted in the frame, a stub shaft secured to the fold forming member, a rack bar slidably mounted on the carriage, a shaft mounted on the frame, a segmental gear secured to the shaft and meshing with the teeth of the rack, a disc carried by the shaft and cooperating with the rack bar beyond the rack teeth to limit the rotation of the shaft to an arc of 180, operating connections between the shaft and the stub shaft, and a stop in the path of the rack bar to bring it to a state of rest prior to the end of the stroke of the carriage.

4. A cloth laying up machine comprising a table, a carriage reciprocating on the table, a frame mounted on the carriage, a fold forming member pivotally mounted in the frame, a stub shaft secured to the fold forming member, a rack bar slidably mounted on the carriage, a shaft mounted on the frame, a segmental gear secured to the shaft and meshing with the teeth of the rack, a disc carried by the shaft, the disc being of substantially the same diameter as the segmental gear and being provided with flattened portions at spaced intervals, the flattened portions of the disc being adapted to engage the side of the rack bar beyond the rack teeth to arrest rotation of the shaft, operating connections between the shaft and the stub shaft, and a stop in the path of the rack bar to bring it to a state of rest prior to the end of the stroke of the carriage.

- JOSEPH M. PERIGNAT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent? UNITED STATES PATENTS 

